The present invention relates to football blocking devices, and, more particularly, the present invention relates to a football blocking device for training defensive linemen to react to the snap of a football and to charging offensive linemen.
In the training of a defensive lineman for football, it is desirable to subject the lineman to simulated game conditions. Under actual game conditions, the defensive lineman lines up opposite the offensive linemen. When the center snaps the football, the offensive lineman charges forward and attempts to keep his center of gravity low in order to be most effective in blocking the defensive lineman. If the defensive lineman charges before the ball is snapped, his team is penalized. If he delays charging until after the snap, the defensive lineman is likely to be caught off guard by the offensive lineman. Thus, it is essential for the defensive lineman to coordinate his charge with the snap of the football.
Football training devices which simulate the charge of a lineman are known. One such device is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,329,428 which was issued July 4, 1967 to J. A. Moran. This football blocking device utilizes a blocking dummy mounted on the end of a plunger which is driven forward by the force of a large compressed spring. One disadvantage of this device is that it may be dangerous in that a lineman who is caught off guard may be injured by the forward thrust of the plunger. Also, once the forward thrust is complete, the device disclosed in this patent does not simulate the resistance an opposing offensive lineman would give to a defensive lineman.
Another football blocking device is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,674,265 issued July 4, 1972 to Sheets and Booth. This patent discloses a football blocking device wherein a compressed spring drives a plunger having a blocking dummy mounted thereon forward to simulate the initial charge of lineman. The plunger includes a compression spring on the forward end thereof to simulate the lineman's shock-rebound properties. The angle of the plunger stroke and the force of the springs can be varied to simulate different charges and retreats. The device also includes a football snap simulating mechanism actuated simultaneously with the forward movement of the plunger. This device, as does the device described in U.S. Pat. No. 3,329,428 to Moran, includes a plunger that moves forwardly under the force of a compressed spring and has the same disadvantage that injuries may result to a lineman caught off guard. Moreover, the mechanism for moving the blocking dummy forward simultaneously with the rearward movement of a ball object is relatively complex and expensive to manufacture. Furthermore, after each actuation of the device, the spring which drives the plunger forward must be compressed again, thus requiring a relatively strong coach and delaying the next drill. Moreover, in a device including three or more blocking dummies, the spring associated with each of the plungers must be compressed after each actuation and this may result in delays during practice.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,044,776 issued on July 17, 1962 to Weidmaier and Nicolino discloses a football training device wherein a blocking dummy is moved forwardly by hand operation and a simulated football object is moved rearwardly by foot operation. This device is relatively complicated and may not necessarily provide for simultaneous forward movement of the blocking dummy and rearward movement of the ball.
Other football blocking devices are disclosed in the following U.S. Pat. Nos.: 2,653,816; 3,062,547; 3,144,251; 3,237,944; 3,365,947; 3,425,692; 3,427,021; 3,514,105; 3,578,324; 3,684,283; 3,825,260; 3,827,690; 3,873,089; 3,889,949; 3,897,060; and 4,087,089.